Cherkizovo said sales rose five per cent to approximately 194,100 tonnes of slaughter weight in 2010. But it said prices in rouble terms decreased by three per cent from RUB74.33 per kilo in 2009 to RUB71.89 last year.

It said the pricing environment for poultry products at the end of 2010 was affected by a large share of imports entering Russia in the fourth quarter.

This led to higher inventory stocks and put pressure on prices during the first quarter of 2011.

But it says: "Given the considerable reduction in poultry import quotas, together with expected meat price inflation resulting from rising input costs, we expect upward trends in poultry prices from the second quarter of the year."

Cherkizovo said its state-of-the-art pork farms in Lipetsk and Tambov operated at near to full capacity. Production at the existing farms came to approximately 76,200 tonnes of live weight.

Together with the acquisition of two new farms in Lipetsk and Penza which produced approximately 11,450 tonnes, sales volumes in the pork division in 2010 increased by 63 per cent to approximately 87,650 tonnes of live weight, compared to approximately 53,800 tonnes in 2009.

This ranked Cherkizovo as the third largest producer in Russia, as the group has increased its market share to five per cent in this still highly fragmented market.